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The local media did not report the truth about the Rohingya issue – A former journalist
Some journalists revealed to Reuters that the local media did not report the true situation on the ground when the Myanmar army killed and drove the Rohingya away during 2016-2017.
When it comes to the Rohingya issue, almost all of the NLD government and the local media reported only on the mouthpiece of the Burmese military.
Some journalists have reported what is actually happening on the ground, but the local media has kept it under wraps. The reason for this is that they are worried, they will be offended by the Burmese public, who have a strong hatred for the Rohingya.
“Some journalists have reported what is actually happening on the ground, but the local media has kept it under wraps. The reason for this is that they are worried, they will be offended by the Burmese public, who have a strong hatred for the Rohingya. Ko Moe Myint regretted his reporting on the Rohingya issue in 2017. I had to consider my safety, and then I was unable to publish all the issues that happened in Rakhine state.”
Ko Moe Myint , A former Journalist
Rakhine journalist Ko Moe Myint said he regretted his reporting on the Rohingya issue in 2017. Ko Moe Myint was sending news for the Irrawaddy news agency at that time.
However, he said that the Irrawaddy news agency withheld some of the news he sent because the public might be dissatisfied.
“I regret some situations,” said Moe Myint, who left Myanmar for exile in the United States after the coup, fearing he would be arrested as part of a media crackdown by the junta. “I had to consider my safety, and then I was unable to publish all the issues that happened in Rakhine state.”
In response to questions, an editor at the Irrawaddy said: “We are never reluctant to publish stories as long as they have been thoroughly verified and the reporter’s safety is not threatened.”
In September 2017, Moe Myint joined a tour organized by authorities to a village just outside Maungdaw town in Rakhine state where officials said several young Rakhine men had been killed by Muslims. He reported the killings in an article for The Irrawaddy, portraying them as the work of militants.
But later, he said, Rakhine villagers told him that the slain men were killed when they took part in a military-led assault on a Rohingya village. “Actually, we overlooked the situation,” he said. It was “quite clear that the military used” Rakhine residents to get information and “participate in military operations.”
“Actually, we overlooked the situation, it was “quite clear that the military used” Rakhine residents to get information and “participate in military operations.”
Ko Moe Myint , A former Journalist
He did not report this at the time, he said. It was difficult to verify information on the ground, he was wary of public opinion given strong anti-Rohingya sentiment, and his editors were reluctant to publish such information, he explained.
In December that year, he witnessed the aftermath of an attack by a mob of Rakhine people who had torn down a mosque and burned homes belonging to Rohingya in the village of Zay Di Pyin. A second reporter who was there, and spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of retribution, confirmed the account.
Moe Myint said the men destroyed the mosque, which was close to a police station, using heavy machinery. He snapped some photos of people taking bricks and other materials from the rubble and was leaving when a crowd surrounded him and his colleague.
“Some people were drunk and they shouted to kill us,” Moe Myint said. He and his colleague were handed over to the police, who detained them.
Though they were eventually released, Moe Myint said he was warned by a senior Rakhine politician that he should never talk publicly about what had happened.
“There are many untold stories,” he said.
These events were not in the news at the time. The Myanmar public has a high level of hatred towards the Rohingya. The news editors are not willing to reveal the true situation. Ko Moe Myint said that the news did not come because it was not easy to confirm the situation on the ground.
Ko Moe Myint is currently in political asylum in the United States. As the coup military council was arresting and suppressing journalists, he fled to the United States.
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